• A practical diagnostic for institutional change: Tanager’s diagnostic assessment tool helps African agricultural institutions assess their current status of gender and nutrition integration, identify strengths and gaps, and establish a baseline for tracking progress.
• Moving from assessment to action: Rather than simply identifying gaps, the diagnostic informs institution-specific action plans and targeted technical assistance, coaching and mentoring, creating a continuous cycle of assessment, action, learning and improvement.
• Building sustainable institutional capacity: The approach recognises that lasting gender and nutrition integration requires more than individual training it depends on leadership commitment, adequate resources, internal expertise, practical tools and strong institutional systems that can sustain change over time.

At the 9^th edition of the African Agriculture Science Week (AASW9) held in Abuja, Nigeria, Tanager and Ikore International Development Limited hosted a side event introducing the Diagnostic assessment tool for gender and nutrition integration, a  framework designed to help African agricultural institutions assess and identify strengths, opportunities as well as actions required to   strengthen gender and nutrition integration into their work.

This tool was developed under Tanager’s flagship programme, Impacting Gender and Nutrition through Innovative Technical Exchange in Agriculture (IGNITE), and further refined during its second phase IGNITE+.

“Many African agricultural institutions are increasingly recognising the importance of gender equality and nutrition-sensitive approaches. Yet translating these commitments into institutional practice can be challenging. Organisations may understand why gender and nutrition matter, while still needing clarity on where to begin, what gaps need to be addressed, and what support is required”, said Oluwakemi Asuni, Gender Expert at Tanager.

The diagnostic process involves initial institutional leadership engagement, document review, interviews and field visits, analysis and development of recommendations, followed by action planning. The assessment examines how gender and nutrition are reflected across areas of the institution’s operations and programmes.

 

Looking Beneath the Surface

 

The diagnostic assessment examines six core domains:

• Policy and approach: Examines whether institutions have policies, strategies and approaches that support gender equality and nutrition-sensitive programming.
• Culture and capacity: Examines the knowledge, skills, staffing and organisational culture needed to put these approaches into practice.
• Budget: To identify whether resources are being allocated to support gender and nutrition priorities.
• Evidence collection: Examines the systems and practices used to collect relevant gender and nutrition data.
• Evidence analysis and use: Examines the extent to which evidence informs programme design, adaptation, decision-making and learning.
• Risk assessment and mitigation (Do No Harm):  Aims to identify how institutions identify and manage potential risks associated with their interventions.

The assessment further uses a structured scoring approach to determine where an institution sits along the diagnostic spectrum which includes Nascent, Emergent, Expanding, Advanced and Institutionalized. This provides a baseline to track progress over time.

The goal is not necessarily for every institution to reach the institutionalized stage with IGNITE+ support but rather, helps them understands where they currently sit along gender and nutrition integration spectrum, what progress is realistic within their context and what capacities and skills are needed to move to the next stage.

 

Turning  Gaps and Opportunities into Action

Once an institution’s strengths, gaps and opportunities have been identified, the findings are used to inform action planning and tailored technical assistance.

“The value of the diagnostic is not simply in identifying gaps. It is about using those findings to develop practical, institution-specific actions and provide the right technical assistance, coaching and mentoring to help institutions strengthen their capacity and sustain progress.” Said Nkemjika Onuoha, Project Manager at Ikore International Development Limited.

The diagnostic serves as a baseline for identifying technical assistance opportunities. Institutions then progress through action planning, technical assistance provision, coaching and mentoring, before undergoing an endline diagnostic to measure progress. This creates a continuous cycle of assessment, action, learning and improvement, rather than a one-off institutional review.

 

What does this mean for African Agricultural Institutions?

For institutions, the diagnostic assessment provides roadmap on how to strengthen gender and nutrition integration by:

• Establishing a clear baseline of gender and nutrition integration;
• Identifying strengths and priority gaps;
• Understand where targeted technical assistance can add value;
• Develop practical, institution-specific action plans;
• Strengthen staff skills, tools and organisational systems;
• Integrate gender and nutrition considerations into programmes and operations; and
• Measure progress over time on gender and nutrition integration.

 

Building Sustainable Institutional Capacity

The assessment approach recognizes that sustainable change requires more than training individuals. Institutions need leadership commitment, adequate resources, internal expertise, practical tools and systems that reinforce gender and nutrition integration over time.

These lessons are also reflected in Tanager’s case study, Assessing Institutional Capacity on Gender and Nutrition in Agriculture, which draws on interviews with team members and feedback surveys from institutions who have completed the diagnostic assessment. While the assessment focused on gender and nutrition in agriculture, many of the lessons highlighted in the case study may also apply more broadly to organisations providing technical assistance and capacity strengthening across other sectors.